Torpedo Runner : 1/48th Monogram TBD-1 Devastator

This is a very old kit from Monogram dating back to 1974. Surprisingly the kit is still decent for its age and can be built up into a good looking model. Don't get me wrong, this TBD-1 will require quite a bit of effort, along with some detailing to bring it up to speed with newer kits, but it can be done.

Notable Kit Features:

• Nicely detailed (for the time) cockpit with raised details

• Raised surface detail with recessed control surface areas

• Positionable flaps

• Folding wings

• Choice of bomb or torpedo armament

• Bomb bay doors may be posed open or closed

• Optional open forward fuselage maintenance panels

• Relatively thin three-piece (closed-option) or multi-piece open canopies
  

Build Inspiration:

I had originally planned to build this 1/48th Monogram TBD-1 Devastator kit in the yellow wing variety, as that is a really eye catching scheme in my opinion. Due to the build giving me problems along the way I grew tired of the project and wanted to shorten the investment in time on this one, so I opted for the simpler Intermediate Blue over Gray scheme in the end. Maybe next time around with this bright yellow wing scheme.

Heads-Up Report:

• Injection / ejector pin marks throughout kit

• Watch the fuselage parts alignment (I believe I cut off some of the locator pins to adjust the fit. The front cowl area is particularly troublesome.)

• Thick wing trailing edge (recommend sanding the gluing edge down flat, for better fit as well)

• Care must be taken gluing the upper & lower wing together in order to maintain corrugation joins at leading edge

• Bulky wing-fold upper wing hinges (should be removed /reworked)

• Challenging fuselage to wing fit, especially along upper wing mating (Styrene plastic card was used to fill gap, plus plenty of sanding and filler)

• Poor bomb bay door fit (again with the styrene, filler and sanding)

• You will note the canopy has quite a few panes to be masked (So Felipe, don't even consider this build ;)
  

Kit Additions / Modifications:

• I built this it out of the box. This was an early build and I didn't get into adding anything. I even went with the kit decals which worked surprisingly well over the wing corrugations.

• Eduard does make masks for the 1/48 TBD-1 Devastator # EX354 (although they are designed for the GWH kit)

Finishing:

As I said, I ended up opting for the camouflaged scheme on this aircraft of Intermediate Blue (FS 35164) over Gray (FS 36270). I was building museum examples at this point so no weathering was done to the aircraft finish. Considering I built this model over 20 years ago, it is holding up alright.

The After-Build Report:

With a "heads-up list the length that this one has, I will stop short of recommending this 1/48th Monogram TBD-1 Devastator kit. Although I have not built the Great Wall 1/48 TBD-1 Devastator, from what I have seen, this much more recent release (2012) brings details, refinements and fit improvements over this old Monogram version (albeit at a much higher cost). Having said that, if you have one of these Monogram Devastators in the stash or come across a very inexpensive one, you can still get a nice aircraft built with some more effort.

Completed build #55 - December 1998 using the 1/48th scale Monogram TBD-1 #7575 kit.

Feel free to comment or ask any questions - Keep on building, gain experience, challenge yourself if you like, but try not to stress yourself out over the build - it is suppose to be an enjoyable hobby after all - Cheers